Thin Gauge Thermoforming

Thin Gauge thermoforming is a process that converts a flat sheet of plastic into a functional form usually used in packaging. Materials typically run between .010″ to .055″ thick. The most common uses are for food, medical, and retail packaging. Universal Plastics has built thin gauge thermo forming expertise throughout the years and understands how to successfully deliver packaging products designed for industries with stringent requirements on quality like food and medical.

This starts by establishing a culture of quality through our ISO9001:2008 registration and rigorous quality and inspection standards, continues by using top grade materials like medical grade resins, and is brought together with years of experience in design, engineering and production.

We specialize in medium volume, complex shaped containers and trays. Our top-notch tooling is highly competitive and provides rapid-turnaround which ensures that your product gets to market faster, on time and on budget.

Quality thin gauge trays and clamshells begin with quality tooling. At Universal Plastics we make our production tools from machined aluminum and add temperature controlling to ensure an accurate replication of the mold surface and part to part consistency.

Typical tolerances are +/- .025 on the formed dimensions, and +/- .060 on the perimeter die cut.

Our maximum mold size is up to 30” wide, and 4” depth of draw.

The most commonly used materials include PVC, HIPS, PET, RPET, PETG, HDPE and ABS. However, several other specialty materials are available and can be provided based on your needs.

Our team of qualified designers can help you create anything from complex material handling trays that protect sensitive components, a retail package that adds pizazz and security to your product, or even a simple drip tray to protect your equipment from caustic fluid damage.

Thin Gauge Thermoforming Applications:

Universal Plastics’ thin gauge thermoforming expertise has been applied across a variety of industries, including retail, medical and food. Examples of the custom products we make are as follows:

Retail Clamshell Packaging

Food Clamshell Packaging

Medical Clamshell Packaging

Retail Tri-Fold Packaging

Packaging Blisters

Point of Purchase Displays

Medical Packaging

Food Packaging

Retail Packaging

Pick and Place Trays

Drip Trays

Shipping Trays

Material Handling Trays and Covers

Packaging Inserts

Whatever your needs may be, Universal Plastics can put our engineering, design & manufacturing expertise to work to create the right product for you.

Custom Food Packaging:

Pita chips, cookies, and frozen biscuits have all been packaged by Universal Plastics. Cold temperature OPS plastic material is used in design to withstand prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures. We can manufacture packaging with customer-specified molded logos enhance product identification and build your brand awareness. Our food packaging products can be used with either manual or automated package assembly. For more information, take a look at Custom Food Packaging.

Custom Medical and Shipping Packaging:

Universal Plastics is proud to have relationships with several major OEMs within the medical products industry. Our custom shipping trays protect expensive electronic, medical, or precision machined components. Drip trays offer solutions to protect against caustic chemicals & corrosion to expensive equipment. Universal Plastics also manufactures stackable & nestable trays with additional ESD protection for sensitive electronic components. The materials we use include medical grade PETG, PET, and HIPS. Universal Plastics is ISO 9001 Registered and ANAB Accredited. For more information, take a look at Custom Medical Packaging.

Custom Retail Packaging:

Universal Plastics’ retail packaging solutions provide superior protection, brand focus, and clarity that draws customers to your product. The example shown is of the retail display of a major global toy manufacturer which turned to Universal Plastics to manufacture these attractive displays, which resulted in a spike in sales of their specialty kits. For more information, take a look at Custom Retail Packaging.

To learn more about thin gauge thermoforming or to discuss other needs, please Contact Us.